28 Mar

Posted at 22:50h in Competency Four, Competency Nine, Competency Three, Competency Two, Courses, GPCI Competencies, Grant Funding Basics, Grant Writing, How-To, Julie Assel, GPC, Need & Need Statements, Uncategorized

    Describing the Need Session 4 of the Grant Funding Basics Series In every grant proposal, the writer must convey the importance and urgency of their target population’s needs, problems, and challenges with data and heart. In this webinar, presenter Julie Assel, GPC, will start at the surface and then take...

13 Jan

Posted at 19:16h in Case Statements, Competency Eight, Competency Nine, Competency Three, Kellie Brunguard, Strategy, Writing
Case statements are a vital component of a nonprofit fundraising strategy. They are living documents that describe the essential elements of an organization or specific program. These comprehensive descriptions cover topics most funders request – organization history, goals and outcomes, sustainability plan, organizational structure, etc. The purpose is not to create a generic grant to send out to every funder you know but to serve as a starting point for tailoring information to a specific request. A case statement helps information remain consistent among multiple proposals and establishes a master document for updating annual information, statistics, and outcomes. These documents can also be tailored for individual donor prospects, bring a new partner up to speed, or inform new staff on the organization. Creating a comprehensive case statement requires an investment of time. The good news is that annual maintenance is much easier once it is complete. Here are some helpful tips to keep your case statement fresh in the coming year:

01 Aug

Posted at 14:42h in Competency Nine, Competency Two, Courses, GPCI Competencies, Grant Readiness, Grant Training Series, Grant Writing, Grants 201, How-To, Julie Alsup, Julie Assel, Julie Assel, GPC, Partnerships, Uncategorized

    Grants 201: The Power of Partnerships Session 4 of the Grants 201 Series Working together with other nonprofits to achieve greater impact (e.g. shared services, mergers, joint programming, etc.) Partnerships and collaboration are strategic alliances between nonprofits that are intended to achieve greater impact than any organization could...

27 Jul

Posted at 14:15h in Competency Nine, Competency Two, Courses, GPCI Competencies, Grant Readiness, Grant Training Series, Grant Writing, Grants 201, How-To, Julie Assel, Julie Assel, GPC, Need & Need Statements, Uncategorized

  Grants 201: Needs Assessment & Strategic Plans Session 3 of the Grants 201 Series Needs assessments conducted broadly in the community and specifically by an organization are valuable tools for all individuals who write grants. They help the writer use facts to describe the challenges experienced by...

20 Nov

Posted at 18:51h in AGS Staff, Competency Four, Competency Nine, Narrative, Professional Development, Writing
I have worked in grants development for 26 years (boy, time flies when you are having fun!). Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to attend my very first Grant Professionals Association (GPA) annual conference. Many would ask, “Really, you are just now attending the GPA conference after so many years in this business?” I am grateful to have joined the team at Assel Grant Services (AGS), where professional development and GPA involvement are high priorities. I started with AGS in late August, and one of my first assignments was to register for the GPA annual conference. There was no question about whether or not I would attend - it was a given that I would. And I am so glad I got this opportunity. It turns out, as I learned from the conference, you CAN teach a “seasoned” grant writer new tricks – tricks that will not only improve their work, but will shift their thinking, make them a better grant writer, and because of some of the topics that were presented, will just make them a better person overall.

16 Aug

Posted at 19:43h in Competency Four, Competency Nine, Whitney Gray, GPC, Writing
Recently, I conducted a pre-submission peer review on several federal grant proposals from organizations located in rural Kansas. The first question each organization had to respond to was, “Describe your geographical/service area.” Each organization named the counties served in their respective service areas and then went on to describe just how ‘rural’ their area is. While each applicant organization had some aspects of serving rural areas of Kansas in common, they each approached the description differently. Some of the descriptions included the total square mileage contained within their service boundaries; others referenced the state’s definitions that place a county on a continuum of ‘frontier’ to ‘urban’; others pointed out the distance in hours to the nearest major city. Ultimately, each applicant described their geographical service area with the purpose of convincing federal reviewers that Organization XYZ was the only provider of important services for its region.

09 Aug

Posted at 13:10h in Competency Eight, Competency Five, Competency Four, Competency Nine, Grant Reporting, Grants Management, Julie Alsup, GPC, Writing
You want me to write about what? How can I write about progress when the right data wasn’t collected to measure progress? Grant professionals are frequently faced with the reality of gaps in data in pre-award, and post-award. We are asked to respond to sections which require a discussion of national, regional, and local data to justify need; as well as sections requesting data-supported rationale for the proposed intervention, and finally a proposed series of measurable objectives indicated by an improvement over baseline. Sometimes there is something to work with. Oftentimes we are asked to work magic!

02 Jul

Posted at 14:21h in Competency Nine, Michele Ryan, Narrative, Writing
As grant professionals, we all know that using strong, relevant data from reliable sources to support our case for funding is essential to a quality, competitive application. Although this is true across all types of applications, it is especially relevant when applying for federal grants. While stories bring our programs to life for a reviewer, used artfully data provides the foundation that makes it possible to build a captivating (and winning) case for support. I’m going to provide you with some resources you can use to make finding - and citing - that crucial piece of data easier next time you need it.

03 May

Posted at 17:50h in Competency Nine, Thomas Assel, GPC, Writing
May is a month of growth. Trees leaf out more fully and flowers bloom. The temperature rises without being sweltering. We slip the cold bonds of winter and the chaotic weather of early spring, and we breathe deeply of air redolent with the fragrance of blossoms and freshly mown grass. I do, at least until my allergies cause my sinuses to shut tighter than a 100-words-or-less organizational description. As spring’s warmth sets in, we may clean out some of the clutter we accumulated during the long winter. Yes, May is a good month for decluttering our living spaces, and it’s a good month to declutter our writing. By paring down our writing to its essentials, we can be much more effective as grant writers. We can actually grow by shrinking. And not only can we reduce the physical space our writing occupies, but we can also reduce the effort needed to read it and understand it.

12 Feb

Posted at 15:27h in Competency Four, Competency Nine, Inspiration, Leah Hyman, Writing
In honor of Valentine’s Day on the 14th, I thought it would be fun to take a moment to consider fourteen of the many things to love (or not) about our profession. Now, I’m no Elizabeth Barrett Browning, and this is no “Sonnet 43,” but I hope this list makes you smile and consider what you love most about grant writing.